Technology is leaving too many of us behind

In this interview with CNN, the co-founders of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy discuss the many ways in which we are all left behind by technology and innovation as it accelerates. In many ways similar to my earlier post about data collection and young students, the discussion is focused on how quickly technology is racing ahead, before regulations or organizations have a chance to adapt. For example:

“• Are our regulations keeping up with new companies that let people summon a ride on the fly or rent out a room in their house?

• Are large employers able to look beyond the traditions of resume, transcript and interview when evaluating job candidates and learn how to value alternate signals like performance in a massive open online course?

• Will our primary education system decrease its current emphasis on rote learning and standardized testing and start teaching skills computers don’t have, such as creativity and problem-solving?

• Can we remove the Kafkaesque barriers in place today that prevent so many of the world’s most talented, tenacious and ambitious people from immigrating to the United States? Will the government start spending adequately in the areas where we know it pays off, like infrastructure and basic research?

Too often today, the answers to questions like these are “no” or “not enough.””